Jack Cade's Rebellion History > Medieval Britain > Jack Cade's Rebellion Jack Cade's Rebellion - 1450 BY DAVID ROSS , EDITOR Overview Jack Cade's Rebellion was an uprising against the policies of Henry VI, led by, not surprisingly, Jack Cade. The majority of the participants were peasants and small landowners from Kent, who objected to forced labour, corrupt courts, the seizure of land by nobles, the loss of royal lands in France, and heavy taxation. Led by Cade, an ex-soldier, a mob gathered in Kent, defeated a government force sent to disperse them, and entered London. At first the Londoners supported Cade, but the violent behaviour of Cade's men turned the City against them. Most of the mob accepted a pardon issued by the king, and returned home. Cade himself was also pardoned, but later killed by the Sheriff of Kent. Background The never-ending struggle with France that we know as the Hundred Years War had depleted the English treasury and left the royal coffers constantly in need of replenishment.

Heavy taxation was the result, but added to the burden of this taxation was the greed of royal officials, who lined their own pockets at the expense of proper administration of the tax system. Although Cade's Rebellion has sometimes been characterize as a peasant uprising (similar to the Peasant's Revolt of 1381), such is not really the case. Cade's Rebellion certainly attracted numbers of peasants, but the leaders were men of property who objected to the political climate of the times. Even churchmen joined the rebels, including the rector of Mayfield and the Prior of St Pancras in Lewes. Although they did call for some social change, notably to the Statute of Labourers, which made peasants subject to compulsory labour, social change was not the rebel's root concern. Instead, most of these minor gentry wanted an end to poor government. They did not call for sweeping social change, but for the removal of certain councilors, the return of royal estates that had been granted out, and improved methods of taxation. Cade Jack Cade is something of a mystery man; even his name is uncertain.

Some of his followers called him John Mortimer, and claimed that he was related to Richard, Duke of York, and also that he had fought for France against England in the Hundred Years War. He appeared to history out of nowhere in the spring of 1450, and by sheer dint of personality became the recognized leader of the Kentish protests. The rebellion Government troops were sent to disperse the protesters in Kent. They met Cade and his men at Sevenoaks, where the rebels emerged triumphant. Cade's men marched on London, where they were welcomed by the Londoners, who were in sympathy with many of Cade's aims. The rebels stormed the Tower of London, but just failed to take the fortress. They killed the Archbishop of Canterbury and Henry's treasurer, Sir James Fiennes, as well as the Sheriff of Kent. These first two had their heads cut off and placed on placed on poles kissing each other. The royal troops regrouped and fought the rebels to a standstill. In an arranged truce Cade presented a list of his demands to royal officials.

The officials assured Cade that the demands would be met, and Cade in turn handed over a list of his men so that each could receive a royal pardon. Most of the mob accepted the promise of pardon and slipped away. But neither the king nor Parliament had agreed to any of the rebel's demands, and neither seemed prepared to do so anytime soon. Henry VI demanded Cade's arrest and the rebel leader fled London. The new Sheriff of Kent, Alexander Iden, pursued Cade and caught him on July 12, 1450, at a little hamlet near Heathfield in Sussex. The hamlet is now known as Cade Street. There Cade was mortally injured, and he died on his way back to London. His corpse was hung, drawn, and quartered, and his head placed on a pole on London Bridge. Aftermath Although many of the ringleaders of the rebellion were captured and killed, in general the king's men honoured the promise of pardon for participants in the rebellion. In practical terms, the rebellion failed to achieve its aims, for the abuses of which the rebels complained did not cease.

The story of Jack Cade's Rebellion was later dramatized by William Shakespeare in his play, Henry VI. Jack Cade | English revolutionary | Britannica.com English revolutionary Alternative Titles: John Cade, Mortimer, John Jack Cade Edmund Ludlow Jack Cade, byname of John Cade (born , Ireland —died July 12, 1450, Heathfield, Sussex , Eng.), leader of a major rebellion (1450) against the government of King Henry VI of England; although the uprising was suppressed, it contributed to the breakdown of royal authority that led to the Wars of the Roses (1455–85) between the houses of York and Lancaster. Cade was living in Sussex when, in 1449, he was accused of murdering a woman. He fled to France but returned in 1450 and settled in Kent, posing as a physician named John Aylmer . In June 1450 Jack Cade emerged as leader of a Kentish rebellion of small property holders victimized by high taxes and prices.

By assuming the name John Mortimer, he identified himself with the family of Henry VI’s rival, Richard, duke of York, who was living in virtual exile in Ireland. Cade issued a manifesto demanding the removal of several of the King’s chief ministers and the recall of Richard. His forces defeated a royal army at Sevenoaks, Kent, on June 18, and on July 3 he entered London , where he executed the hated lord treasurer, James Fiennes, Lord Saye and Sele. Nevertheless, Cade’s lawlessness quickly alienated the Londoners, who drove the insurgents from the city on July 5–6. The government persuaded most of the rebels to disperse by offering them a pardon, but Cade continued his resistance. Wounded and captured near Lewes, Sussex, on July 12, he died while being transported to London.

Learn More in these related articles: The Start of the Cade Rebellion Home News The Start of the Cade Rebellion The Start of the Cade Rebellion Posted By: Daryl Worthington Posted date: May 07, 2015 in: News On 8th May, 1450, a group of Kentish men led by Jack Cade began their revolt against King Henry VI. Ultimately marching to London, the rebellion proved a key marker of the breakdown in royal authority that resulted in the War of the Roses. Although led by property owners, the participants in the rebellion were mostly peasants from Kent, England, marking the event out as a key moment in the growing political consciousness of the non-aristocratic members of society. Unlike the Peasant Revolt of 1381, Cade’s rebellion was not instigated by peasantry, but it pointed to the growing potential of the poorest in society to become a force that could be harnessed by those seeking to affect political change. The protesters objected to forced labour, corrupt courts, land seizures by the nobility and heavy taxation.

Coming at the height of the seemingly endless Hundred Years War with France, the revolt was directly linked to the broader resentment at the royal management of the conflict. Henry’s reign had seen a series of severe defeats, leading to the costly loss of territory on French soil. The Royal treasury had also been drained by the expensive war, leading to an increased tax burden across society. Such broad taxation in turn lead to greater opportunity for corruption, with tax officials taking advantage of an inefficient system to fill their own pockets. Cade and his followers defeated an army sent to Kent to suppress the revolt, before marching on London. They entered the city, and stormed the Tower of London, killing the Lord Treasurer: Sir James Fiennes, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The two men’s heads were cut off and placed on poles kissing each other. Initially, Cade’s mob received support from Londoners who sympathised with their cause. However, the protesters’ violence eventually started to alienate the city’s population. Royal troops regrouped, and fought the rebels to a standstill. A truce was arranged, and Cade was given permission to submit his list of demands to royal officials.

The officials promised that the demands would be met, and set about issuing a royal pardon to all those involved in the protest. Significantly, the King had not agreed to these concessions, a fact which would prove crucial later. Jack Cade himself was something of a mysterious figure, with even his name being far from certain. Of Irish descent, one account of his life suggests that in 1449 he lived in Sussex, but fled to France following an accusation that he had murdered a woman. In 1450 he returned to England and settled in Kent, posing as a physician named John Aylmer. At the start of the rebellion, he assumed the name John Mortimer, thus identifying himself with the family of Richard of York, a rival of Henry’s who had been exiled to Ireland. Significantly, one of the demands on the petition submitted to the king was that Richard be recalled to England. Henry refused to allow Cade’s audacity to go unpunished, and in June demanded that he be arrested. The Sheriff of Kent pursued Cade, and caught him on 12th July, 1250. Cade was injured in the confrontation, and died on the journey back to London.

His corpse was hung, drawn and quartered, before his head was placed on a pole outside London Bridge. Many other leaders of the rebellion were also subsequently captured and killed. In the short term, the rebellion failed, with Henry refusing to implement any of the changes his officials had agreed to. Many of the participants in the revolt had been spared punishment, but the fate of the ring leaders sent a powerful message to any who may have been considering another rebellion. In the long term however, the Cade Rebellion highlighted the King’s increasingly fragile hold on power in the run up to the War of the Roses. The Populist Rebellion: Then and Now - Breitbart The Populist Rebellion: Then and Now 1 Jun, 2016 SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER The motif of the 2016 presidential election has emerged as one of rebellion against the establishment and the oligarchy that perpetuates it. The larger question is whether some politically amorphous dissident army can upend the status quo. The establishment’s horror at the prospect of a successful rebellion belies the history of a nation that was actually founded in such rebellion.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER The ghost of rebellion that haunted the English psyche for centuries and that they were determined to crush in 1776 was named – Jack Cade. Have you ever heard of him? You see, in 1450, Cade led a makeshift rebel army against the forces of King Henry VI. He was almost certainly a peasant, but other than that, very little is known about him, which enabled him to shape shift like a specter of discontent. According to some, Cade was plotting with Richard of York under the name “John Mortimer.” According to others, he was Dr. Alymere, son-in-law of a Surrey squire, and still others believed he was a practitioner of witchcraft. Jack Cade’s real name is unknown to this day, as is his history prior to 1450. He appeared, it seems, out of nowhere in the human form of Jack Cade, or whomever, to haunt the kingdom into chaos.

What is known about Jack Cade is that he led a threateningly large group of peasants, small land owners, some clergy and even some propertied men to the gates of London, mostly in rebellion against taxation from the Hundred Years’ War and pervasive government corruption. This group of minor gentry and land laborers did not seek sweeping social change as much as basic government reform, mostly in the form of lower taxes. Upon first hearing of the peasant rebellion, the King sent his troops to Sevenoaks; about 18 miles southeast of London, to strike down the ragtag reformers, and the king’s troops were promptly defeated. Cade’s impromptu army marched to London where they were treated as victors; Londoners generally agreed that taxes and corruption were pressing problems. Cade’s army became rather enamored with their success and proceeded to storm the Tower of London and behead a few government officials, including Sir James Fiennes, the king’s treasurer, and Sir James’ son-in-law, William Crowmer. The bodiless heads of Fiennes and Crowmer were placed atop stakes and paraded through town kissing each other.

For good measure, Cade’s men also killed the Sheriff of Kent who, needless to say, had some intent to arrest Cade. The king’s men regrouped and fought again but could gain no ground on Cade’s army of malcontents, at which point Cade presented his list of demands to royal officials who agreed to the demands and to granting pardons to the rebellion’s participants. The demands can be summarized simply as “run a decent government.” With an agreement on the demands, the rebel army largely dispersed. King Henry, though, had no intention of meeting the rebel army’s demands – either to run a decent government or pardon Cade and his men. The new Sheriff of Kent chased Cade for forty miles until he finally arrested Cade with a fatal blow of a sword. To further punctuate his rejection of the agreement he’d supposedly accepted, King Henry subjected Cade’s dead body to show trial, and, upon being found guilty, Cade’s corpse was hung, and then cut into pieces that were distributed throughout Kent as a cordial reminder of the king’s disposition on peasant rebellions. Finally, Henry had Cade’s head staked on a pole on London Bridge, kissing no one.

The specter of Cade’s peasant rebellion has haunted English historians and poets ever since: “For our enemies shall fall before us, inspired with the spirit of putting down kings and princes…” (Henry VI, Part 2). Peter Oliver, the loyalist Chief Justice of the Massachusetts court wrote in his 1781 Origin & Progress of the American Rebellion: “[T]he Hydra was roused. Every factious Mouth vomited out Curses against Great Britain, & the Press rung its changes upon Slavery. A Mr. Delany a principal Lawyer of Virginia, wrote the first Pamphlet of Note upon the Subject; which, as soon as it reached Boston young Mr. Otis, the then Jack Cade of the Rebellion.” More frightening to the oligarchs than the specter of Jack Cade was the idea of Jack Cade with a printing press marshaling a literate rebellion.

Sending the Sheriff of Kent to arrest Cade with a blow of a sword would do no good, because as John Milton observed a century earlier: “Books are not absolutely dead things, but doe contain a potencie of life in them to be as active as that soule was whose progeny they are.” If knowledge had become untethered from a world of fixed relationships, and its value increasingly was not in the degree to which it supported and completed a stable and fixed edifice of knowledge, and if books were not dead things, then how was the Sheriff of Kent to respond? He could hardly chase down an idea and put it to the sword. Peter Oliver’s evocation of Jack Cade as “The Hydra” demonstrates that in the new media world of the 18th century, the press could create many-headed ideas incapable of being terminated by a Sheriff’s swift sword. But the foundation of colonial education was in fact the Bible, and Oliver was undoubtedly referencing the Book of Revelations hydra and fully intended his readers to think of the Judgment Day beast.

Only an oligarch would apply the metaphor to the many printing presses fueling the media war and not to the Empire that wished to return to the days when rebellion could be quelled by putting a single man to death. In the end, Oliver’s interpretation lost and the rebel’s version of the hydra was memorialized in the American founding document, namely: The Declaration of Independence (“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance”). The colonial oligarchs of the 1700s had feared the press would transform the specter of Jack Cade into an irresistible force of history. When the Prime Minister requested that King George charge Otis – the “Jack Cade of the Rebellion” – with treason (a crime only cured by execution), the King demurred. It was too late. Though the King still harbored hopes of regaining control of colonial Boston, easy access to the press had transformed Otis’ rebellion far beyond anything readily solvable with a sword. In the end, Jack Cade vanquished the hydra with the consequential help of new media.

And if Otis had Twitter, the King’s hopes for regaining control may have been dashed well before 1776. The distinction between the failure of Cade’s rebellion and the success of the American Revolution is before our very eyes today. Bernie Sanders will agree to a few committee assignments at the DNC convention and then be hunted by the Clinton machine like Cade through the woods of southern England. Trump however, is a leader of a different kind of populist rebellion – one that understands that in order to be effective the rebellion must leverage media to become a movement that lives in ideas rather than through any individual. Ironically, this makes Trump not a dictator (where the power resides in the person) but rather a true child of the American Revolution (where the power resides in ideas promoted through the media). Trump’s power is generated by his persistent refusal to come to agreements with the oligarchy and established elites because, unlike Jack Cade, Trump’s peasants won’t get fooled a second time. Nathan Allen is a Yale graduate writer who lives in Connecticut.

Theodore Roosevelt Malloch is a professor at Oxford University and author of a new memoir, DACVOS, ASPEN & YALE: My Life Behind the Elite Curtain as a Global Sherpa, 2016. Read More Stories About: Cade's Rebellion | English history [1450] | Britannica.com English history [1450] Shays’s Rebellion Cade’s Rebellion, (1450) Uprising against the government of Henry VI of England . Jack Cade , an Irishman of uncertain occupation living in Kent, organized a rebellion among local small property holders angered by high taxes and prices. He took the name John Mortimer, identifying himself with the family of Henry’s rival, the duke of York. Cade and his followers defeated a royal army in Kent and entered London, where they executed the lord treasurer. They were soon driven out of the city; Cade’s followers dispersed on being offered a pardon, and Cade was mortally wounded in Sussex. His rebellion contributed to the breakdown of royal authority that led to the Wars of the Roses . Learn More in these related articles: Henry VI (king of England) Dec. 6, 1421 Windsor, Berkshire, Eng.

May 21/22, 1471 London king of England from 1422 to 1461 and from 1470 to 1471, a pious and studious recluse whose incapacity for government was one of the causes of the Wars of the Roses. Jack Cade Ireland July 12, 1450 Heathfield, Sussex, Eng. leader of a major rebellion (1450) against the government of King Henry VI of England; although the uprising was suppressed, it contributed to the breakdown of royal authority that led to the Wars of the Roses (1455–85) between the houses of... Wars of the Roses (1455–85), in English history, the series of dynastic civil wars whose violence and civil strife preceded the strong government of the Tudors. Fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne, the wars were named many years afterward from the supposed badges of the... More about Cade’s Rebellion 1 Reference found in Britannica Articles Assorted Reference reign of Henry VI (in United Kingdom: Cade’s rebellion ) External Links Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article!

Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources. At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.) Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Submit Thank You for Your Contribution! Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed.

Uh Oh There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later. Close Date Published: May 11, 2016 URL: Access Date: January 19, 2017 Share BBC - KS3 Bitesize History - Popular protest through time and the UK : Revision, Page 3 Popular protest through time and the UK Protest in the Middle Ages There were three notable popular uprisings in the Middle Ages. They share many similarities: The king was in a weak position. The rebels did not try to overthrow the king – they blamed his advisers. Although each rebellion had a specific cause, the rebels were angry at the injustice and suffering of the poor. In 1381, the Peasants' Revolt occurred: Richard II was only 14 years of age, and the war against France was going badly. The peasants of Essex, led by Jack Straw, and of Kent, led by Wat Tyler, revolted against the Poll Tax [poll tax: A tax paid by all adult (men). The amount was the same for everyone, regardless of their income or occupation.] . A priest called John Ball believed that all men were equal and objected to the wealth and privileges of the lords.

The rebels marched on London and entered the city, where they killed the Archbishop of Canterbury and destroyed the houses of the king's leading ministers. But they still obeyed the king, and went home when he asked. Then the king put the revolt down. Many of the rebels were executed. In 1450, Jack Cade led a rebellion of Kentish people. At the time, King Henry VI was losing the war against France. Cade issued a Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent, accusing the king of poor government. The rebels objected to heavy taxation and corrupt officials. The rebels proclaimed themselves "the king's true liege men". Cade raised an army of about 5,000 rebels, which marched on London, looted it, and executed Henry's Treasurer and a few others. The next day, when the rebels tried to enter the city again, there was a battle and the rebels were defeated. Henry promised the rebels a pardon, and they returned home. Immediately the King revoked the pardon. The royal army tracked down Cade and his followers, killed Cade and executed others. In 1497, the people of Cornwall rebelled: In 1496, Scotland had invaded England.

The rebels were protesting against the attempts of the new king, Henry VII, to levy new taxes to pay for a war in the north. The rebels aimed their complaints, not at the Henry VII, but at his ministers. The rebel army numbered 15,000, and was led by a blacksmith known as Michael An Gof. An Gof means 'blacksmith'. The rebels marched on London, but were defeated by the royal army, which had cannon and cavalry. The Cornishmen surrendered. Henry sold all the prisoners as slaves, and An Gof was executed. Page The History of Deptford Bridge An Gof and the Cornish rebels in Deptford, 1497 Cade Road in Blackheath looking towards Wat Tyler's Mound The basic freedoms that so many English men and women now accept, both in fact and in law, as their birthright, are of course neither so firmly established nor so proof against attack that we can afford to take them for granted or believe that they are to be maintained, let alone extended, without constant vigilance and constant effort.

And above all we have to remember that these freedoms have been won for us over the centuries by the determined efforts of others, people who have had to fight, often against overwhelming odds, for every inch of the ground. Christopher Hampton, Writing in A Radical Reader: The Struggle for Change in England, 1381-1914 (Penguin, London, England, 1984) In 1450, it was the turn of the Kentish rebels led by an Irishman called John Mortimer, who became better known as Jack Cade. He led rebels onto Blackheath Common in South London, and marched across Deptford bridge with 46,000 people into London. They too had demands similar to the Poll Tax rebels in 1381. Christopher Hampton in A Radical Reader says the main reasons for the revolt was Henry VI's oppressive and tyrannical regime.

The rebellion failed, and the brutal aftermath, as noted in A Radical Reader, was known in Kent as "The Harvest of Heads" because of the numbers executed who had their heads (with Cade's) displayed on the King's order above London Bridge.16 The following are excepts from documents at the time (most of which were originally written in Norman-French) of Cade's rebellion, which are reproduced in A Radical Reader: From Gregory, Chronicle, and Three Fifteenth Century Chronicles The rebellion was a carefully organized rising of the people against the oppression and tyranny of Henry Vl's ministers and particularly the Lord Treasurer, in their exaction of laws and taxes at the bitter end of the French Wars, a time of economic depression and poverty for the common people. What makes it significant is that even the local gentry followed Cade's standard, and (from Stow's Chronicle) it seems that the King's followers, too, plainly suggested that, unless his traitorous ministers were dealt with, they would desert to the Captain. Cade led the rebels to Blackheath, retreated after a week, defeated part of the royal army at Sevenoaks (8 June) and took possession of London.

Lord Saye, the King's Treasurer, was executed; but the commons were soon driven out (5-6 July) and eventually dispersed, though Cade continued to resist till killed on 12 July. William Gregory (d. 1467) was Lord Mayor of London for 1451-2. From Gregory, p. 190 And after that the commons of Kent arose with certain other shires, and they chose them a captain, the which captain . . . From Three Fifteenth Century Chronicles . . . named himself John Mortimer, whose very true name was Jack Cade, and he was an Irishman; From Gregory, p. 190 [and] compelled all the gentlemen to arise with them.

And at the end of Parliament they came with a great might and a strong host unto the Black Heath, beside Greenwich, the number of 46,000; and there they made a field, dyked and staked well about, as it had been in the land of war, save only they kept order among them, for also good was Jack Robyn as John at the Noke, for all were as high as pigsfeet, unto the time that they should come and speak with such states and messengers as were sent unto them; then they put all their power into the men that named him Captain of all their host. And there they abode certain days to the coming of the king from the Parliament at Leicester. And then the king sent unto the captain divers lords both spiritual and temporal, to wait and to have knowledge of that great assemblage and gathering of that great and misadvised fellowship. The captain of them sending word again unto the king, that it was for the weal of him our sovereign lord, and of all the realm, and for to destroy the traitors being about him, with their divers points that they would see that it were in short time amended.

A PROCLAMATION MADE BY JACK CADE, "CAPTAIN OF YE REBELS IN KENT" From Three Fifteenth Century Chronicles, pp. 94-6 These being the points, causes and mischief's of gathering and assembling of us the King's liege men of Kent, the 3rd day of June, the year of our Lord 1450, the reign of our sovereign lord the king XXIX, the which we trust to Almighty God to remedy, with the help and the grace of God and of our sovereign lord the king, and the poor commons of England, and else we shall die therefore. We, considering that the king our sovereign lord, by the insatiable, covetous, malicious pomps, and false and of nought brought-up certain persons, and daily and nightly is about his Highness, and daily inform him that good is evil and evil is good . . . Item, they say that our sovereign lord is above his laws to his pleasure, and he may make it and break it as him list, without any distinction.

The contrary is true, and else he should not have sworn to keep it, the which we conceived for the highest point of treason that any subject may do to make his prince run in perjury . . . Item, they say that the commons of England would first destroy the king's friends and afterwards himself . . . Item, they say that the king should live upon his commons, and that their bodies and goods be the king's; the contrary is true, for then needeth he never Parliament to sit to ask good of his commons . . . Item, it is to be remedied that the false traitors will suffer no man to come to the king's presence for no cause without bribes where none ought to be had, nor no bribery about the king's person, but that any man might have his coming to him to ask him grace or judgement in such case as the king may give . . . Item, the false lords impeach men to get their property . . . Item, the law serveth of nought else in these days but for to do wrong, for nothing is sped almost but false matters for colour of the law for mede, drede and favour, and so no remedy is had in the court of conscience in any wise . .

. Item, we will that all men know that we blame not all the lords, nor all those that are about the king's person, nor all gentlemen nor yeomen, nor all men of law, nor all priests, but all such as may be found guilty by just and true enquiry and by the law. Item, we will that it be known that we will not rob, nor reve, nor steal, but that these faults be amended, and then we will go home; whereforewe exhort all the king's true liegemen to help us, to support us . . Item, we desire that all the extortioners might be laid down . . . Item, taking of wheat and other grains, beef, mutton, and other victual, the which is importable hurt to the commons, without provision of our sovereign lord and his true council, for his commons may no longer bear it. Item, the Statute upon Labourers, and the great extortioners of Kent, that is to say, Slegge, Crowmer, Isle and Robert Est.

Item, we move and desire that some true justice with certain true lords and knights may be sent into Kent for to enquire of all such traitors and bribers, and that the Justice may do upon them true judgement, whatsomever they be . . . Item, to sit upon this enquiry we refuse no judge except four chief judges, the which be false to believe. . . . The Lords followers went together and said, but the king would do execution on such traitors as were named, else they would turn to the captain of Kent. From Gregory, pp. 190-91 Upon which answer that the king, thither sent by his lords, did make a cry in the king's name of England that all the king's liege men of England should avoid the field. And upon. the night after they were all voided and agone . . . THEIR DEMANDS UNANSWERED, THE KENTISHMEN TAKE LONDON From Gregory, pp. 191-4 And after that, upon the first day of July, the same captain came again, as the Kentish men said, but it was another that named himself the captain, and he came to the Black Heath.

And upon the morrow he came with a great host unto Southwark, and at the White Hart he took his lodging. And upon the morrow, that was the Friday, again even, they smote asunder the ropes of the drawbridge and fought sore a many, and many a man was murdered and killed in that conflict, I wot not what to name it for the multitude of riff raff. And then they entered into the city of London as men that had been half beside their wit; and in that furnace they went, as they said for the common weal of the realm of England, even straight into a merchant's place named Philip Malpas of London. If it were true as they surmised after the doing, I remit myself to ink and paper . . . But well I wot that every ill beginning most commonly hath an ill ending, and every good beginning hath very good ending . . . And that Philip Malpas was alderman, and they spoiled him and bare away much goods of his, and especially much money, both of silver and gold . . . And then divers questions were asked at the Guildhall; and there Robert Horne being alderman was arrested and brought in to Newgate.

And the same day William Crowemere, squire, and Sherriff of Kent, was beheaded in the field without Aldgate . . . And another man that was named John Bayle was beheaded at the White Chapel. And the same afternoon was beheaded in Cheap before the Standard, Sir James Fienne, being that time the Lord Saye and Great Treasurer of England . . . And that same even London did arise and came out upon them at ten of the bell . . . And from that time unto the morrow 8 of the bell they were ever fighting upon London Bridge, and many a man was slain and cast into the Thames . . . And . . . the Captain of Kent did fire the drawbridge of London; and before that he broke both King's Bench and the Marshalsea, and let out all the prisoners that were in them . . . THE REBELS DISPERSED, THE RISING ENDS From Gregory, p. 194 And upon the 12th day of July . . .

the said Captain was cried and proclaimed traitor, by the name of John Cade, in divers places of London, and also in Southwark, with many more, that what man might or would bring the same John Cade to the king, quick or dead, should have of the king a 1000 marks. Also whosoever might bring or would bring any of his chief counsellors . . . that kept any state or rule or governance under the said false captain John Cade he should have his reward of the king . . . And that day was the false traitor the Captain of Kent taken and slain in the Weald in the county of Sussex, and upon the morrow he was brought in a cart all naked . . . beheaded and quartered . . . and his head . . . set upon London Bridge. SEVEN MONTHS LATER, THE MEN OF KENT ARE STILL PAYING From Gregory, pp. 196-7 . . . On Candlemas Day, the king was at Canterbury, and with him was the Duke of Exeter, the Duke of Somerset, my lord of Shrewsbury, with many other lords and many justices.

And there they held the Sessions four days, and there were condemned many of the Captain's men for their rising, and for their talking against the king . . . And the condemned men were drawn, hanged, and quartered, but they were pardoned to be buried, both the quarters of their bodies and their heads withal. And at Rochester nine men were beheaded at the same time and their heads were sent unto London by the king's commandment, and set upon London Bridge all at one time; and twelve heads at another time were brought unto London and set up under the same form as it was commanded by the king. Men call it in Kent the harvest of heads. CADE AND THE LONDON STONE Cade - who is remembered by Cade Road on Blackheath Common - was also connected with the London Stone. According to tradition, this was originally a temple alter-stone, laid by none other than Brutus the Trojan, the mythical founder of London who gave his name to the country. Because of this, it was considered a scared object on which oaths were sworn. It was also the point from which proclamations were made.

Cade observed the tradition by striking his sword against it as a symbol of sovereignty after his forces entered London.17 On striking the stone, he declared himself lord of the city. The London Stone is a survivor of the thousands of mark stones which used to exist at important geomantric points in cities up until medieval times. It is said that so long as the Brutus stone is safe, no harm will come to Britain. The Brutus stone was not the only totem in London that has this legend. The ancient site of the White Hill (known in Celtic times as the Bryn Gwyn) was not only sacred to the Goddess, but is said to have been the site of the burial of Bran's Head. This site today is the White Tower in the Tower of London. As Bran was the crow god, thus he was protected by the Ravens, a bird sacred to the Celts, who still "guard" the site today. Bran and his Ravens must have been connected with Deptford and Greenwich or the River Ravensbourne would not have been named as such. It have probably would have been known as Aber Bran in Celtic times (Raven's River).

Like with the Brutus Stone, it is said that as long as the Ravens are still in the Tower, Britain will be safe from invasion. Cade is also said to have been connected with Jack Cade's Cavern underneath The Point by Maidenstone Hill on the edge of Blackheath Common. There is also said to be an effigy of The Horned God in the cave, but it is not known if is dates from that period. If it did, then it would connect Jack Cade directly to the myth of The Horned God, and it is worth speculating whether he performed pagan rites in the cave before marching on London. Legend records that the Celtic chieftain Arthur disinterred Bran's head in the 6th Century AD, claiming that only he would protect Britain from invaders. This fulfilled the prophesy by the Celtic shaman Merlin of the triumph of the White Dragon (representing the Saxon's) over the Red Dragon (the Celts).

Thus, within 200 years, the Celts had lost the area of their country that later became known as England (from Angland or Land of the Angles, the Saxon tribes who came from Germany), and they were hemmed into Cornwall, Wales and Cumbria (who were known as the Strathclyde Britons). It was to be the Cornish however who were to return to London and fight at the Battle at Deptford Bridge over the River Ravensbourne in 1497 . © 1997

Question: In 1450, Jack Cade led a rebellion against which King?
Answer: HENRY VI